Qaeda chief to face military tribunal

September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be tried by a military commission now and not a civilian court as announced earlier, said US attorney general Eric Holder on Monday.

Updated on: Apr 6, 2011, 02:06:37 IST

Hindustan Times | By HT Correspondent, Washington

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September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be tried by a military commission now and not a civilian court as announced earlier, said US attorney general Eric Holder on Monday.

It was not an easy decision for Holder, and he let it be known in no uncertain certain terms, accusing the Congress of hanging up on him after he decided to commit the 9/11 cases to federal courts, a Obama campaign promise. The intention of that decision was to try the five suspects in a transparent manner, and not by the opaque military commissions, which would have made the trial look closed and suspicious.

So, on Monday, KSM as Khalid Mohammed Sheikh is known, is being sent back to the military commission for trial, which will be in off-country Guantanamo base in a US enclave in Cuba.

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